Leon Festinger

"Our desire for consistency can override our desire for accuracy."

"Communication that doesn't account for people's need for consistency will fail."

"We are constantly engaged in the project of making our lives coherent and meaningful."

"The social pressure to conform is based on our need to know whether our beliefs and actions are correct."

"When we cannot convince ourselves that we are right, we convince ourselves that we are good."

"The mind plays tricks on itself to maintain coherence."

"We are each the author of our own interpretation of reality."

"The need to feel that our actions are justified is one of the most basic human drives."

"Contradictions between belief and action create a tension that demands resolution."

"We interpret new information in light of what we already believe."

"The mind is a fortress protecting the consistency of the self."

"Social reality is constructed through the shared interpretations of group members."

"We are driven not by truth, but by the need to make sense of our lives."

"The desire for cognitive coherence shapes how we perceive the world."

"Our beliefs about ourselves become prophecies that shape our futures."

"We cannot help but interpret our own behavior through the lens of our self-concept."

"The mind will reorganize reality rather than reorganize itself."

"We are all motivated theorists, constantly building explanations of why people do what they do."

"The consistency of the self is more important than the accuracy of beliefs."

"We construct our identities through the choices we make and the commitments we keep."

"The human capacity for self-deception is perhaps our most distinctive feature."

"We are driven to belong to groups that validate our sense of who we are."

"The discomfort of contradiction is what drives human thought and change."

"Our interpretations of events are colored by what we need to believe about ourselves."

"The mind creates coherence by selectively attending to information."

"We are all engaged in the project of justifying ourselves to ourselves."

"The power of social influence lies in its appeal to our need for meaning."

"What we believe determines not just how we see the world, but who we become."

"The mind is not a passive receiver but an active constructor of reality."

"We seek out others who share our worldview to confirm that our view is correct."